Your Time — finding the balance:
Caring for an elderly patient, whether it’s a family member or a client, demands a significant amount of time. Not only will their needs become a priority of yours, but you will have to accommodate their schedules as well. As a primary caregiver that could mean driving them to doctor’s appointments, weekly hair appointments or even visits with loved ones or friends. These tasks can often take precedence over your daily activities and can sometimes affect the time you get to spend with your friends and loved ones.
This can also lead to burnout if you’re not careful. Prioritizing yourself from time to time becomes necessary to carefully balance your life, even more so if your caregiving duties are not a part of your full-time job.
If you are not a full-time caregiver and instead are caring for a loved one, it’s important that you discuss your new occupation with your employer. Becoming a caregiver may mean leaving work early, arriving late and even missing work entirely to attend doctor appointments for your loved one. It may also limit your availability on a daily basis and your ability to travel for business. Depending on the demands of your job, there’s a good chance your employer may take issue with some of these interruptions to your work. It’s crucial that you speak honestly with your employer about these changes in your life, and even consider taking a leave of absence to care for your ailing loved one. The Family and Medical Leave Act requires covered employers to provide employees job-protected and unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons, and this could fall under those guidelines. Make sure to speak with your employer to see if you qualify.
You could also consider becoming a full-time caregiver at Sunny Days In-Home Care to accommodate the change in your life. Or if the stress and time spent on your new caregiving occupation is too much, give us a call today and we’ll provide a top-of-the-line caregiver to take over the care of your loved ones.